Hiei blurred from his place by the door as Kurama's sudden distress became apparent to him through the link between them. He entered the kitchen to find his sister missing and the redhead heading out the door.

Kurama winced at the sound of breaking china and started after her after only a second of hesitation. Hiei's sudden appearance in the kitchen doorway slowed the redhead down only slightly. "She's fine. I've got it." He said before his love could speak, mild irritation leaking through their mental link.

Hiei was left alone in the kitchen, annoyed and confused as the spilled tea seeped across the floor.

Kurama tracked Yukina effortlessly through the small grove of trees. Silently approaching the distraught Koorime, he sighed and knelt beside her. "Yukina-san, if you want to know something about Hiei, why do you not ask him directly?" He asked gently. "Hiei doesn't lie, you know...a direct question will get you answers I'm not at liberty to share. If you can figure out the right question..." He felt bad for giving the girl that information, but he couldn't bear to see two of his most important people continue to hurt over a this secret.

Kurama looked away from the red eyes that were so eerily similar to Hiei's. It pained him that he could tell her nothing, but he felt he could at least give her a shove without breaking Hiei's trust. "Talk to him. He won't run away and I can always find him for you if he does." He told her firmly, with a small smile to encourage her, not mentioning the mating ties that made that claim true. She'd find out about that as soon as he could convince her to rejoin the group. "Now come on back inside before someone comes looking for us, ne?" He estimated that they had maybe a minute before Hiei would do just that. "I have an announcement to make to everyone first, before Yusuke dies again from the suspense, but I'll help you get Hiei alone later so you can talk to him if you want to."

Kuwabara looked around curiously. "Hey, where'd the shrimp go?" He asked, scratching his head as he finally noticed the quiet demon was no longer in his place by the door.

"I'm right here, idiot." Said fire demon snapped from right behind the orange haired human. It was gratifying the way the oaf jumped to his feet to tower over him, and how his face turned red in impotent fury at the fire demon's bored expression. Torturing Kuwabara was just the outlet Hiei needed for his confused anger from the kitchen.

The redhead followed Yukina back to the house, relieved to find Hiei had left the kitchen in his absence. The last thing he needed was Yukina walking into the kitchen and running straight into Hiei. The fox set about cleaning up the broken teapot and the spilled tea without a word, leaving Yukina the job of making more.

OOC: Edited the previous post to include Hiei and Kuwa. Didn't do anything with them in this post because I wanted you to have the chance to respond to what they did up there. ^_^ I'd have put it in here but it felt more natural up there before Yukina and Kurama returned to the kitchen. ^_^

Akira was a bit confused, first by the sound of something breaking in another room, and then by Hiei's sudden disappearance. She didn't press on the matter, though, as he returned fairly quick, and startled the orange haired idiot. Something had happened, that much was evident, but she kept quiet about it.

Yukina set about making more tea, grabbing a separate tea kettle. There were a few others as well, just in case of accidents. She moved about, quietly focusing on her work. "Kurama, would you mind helping me make some snacks as well?" She asked as she put the kettle on the stove. She began to gather the necessary ingredients for the snacks she would make, but for one thing or another, she wasn't tall enough to reach them.

Kurama deposited the shards of broken pottery in the garbage and hurried to help the short demoness retrieve what she needed for the snacks. He was mildly amused at the difference between the gentle demoness' politeness and her brother's sometimes questionable idea of manners. Hiei would not have hesitated to jump up onto the spotless counter, boots and all if he wanted something. The fire demon was more than a little wild from his lack of what most people would consider a proper upbringing, and he didn't let his lack of height or what others might think of him hold him back. It was one of the reasons Kurama loved him, he brought out the fox's own carefully buried wildness; something the redhead had not realized he'd missed until it had been returned to him.

Hiei ignored the sputtering human and went back to his place by the door, feeling Kurama reenter the temple and correctly assuming the fox wouldn't have come back without Yukina.

Yukina thanked Kurama as he reached for the things she could not. If he had not been around she would have found a way to get the items herself. She set about making snacks, knowing that the tea would take only a little while before it was really ready.

OOC: what should I have her make? I have no idea. I had trouble thinking about this post and it's so short now as is... >.<

OOC: Rice balls? Traditional and very quick to put together if you have the rice already cooked (which is entirely feasible as many Japanese homes keep rice in the rice cooker all day so it is ready for every meal).

OOC: Okay then, Rice balls it is... (though I myself don't know how to make them... o.o) Also, partial time skip...

Yukina looked to Kurama with a smile. "Would you mind helping me carry everything out?" She grabbed the plate of rice balls she'd made and glanced momentarily at the other tray. Piled on top were plates and cups for the tea, as well as the teapot. She shifted her weight ever so slightly so that she could carry the tray better and waited for Kurama.

Yusuke started rocking back and forth a little, his curiosity almost getting the better of him. He wanted very badly to rush into the kitchen and shout, anything to get Kurama to talk to him about this new secret or something. He glanced over at Akira, wondering how she knew Kurama and why she had youki when she was clearly human. Or at least, she had to be a reborn demon, like Kurama. He made a face as he looked up at the ceiling and waited.

Kurama smiled and picked up the other tray, carrying it easily as he followed the aqua haired demoness back into the main room. "Sorry to have kept you waiting." He said with a sheepish smile. "I dropped a teapot and we had to start over." It was a blatant lie but he knew Kuwabara would over react if he realized Yukina was upset. More importantly the orange haired human would want to know why; and the redhead didn't want the little ice demoness to be put in the awkward position of having to either lie or share her suspicions about Hiei in front of everyone.

Hiei narrowed his eyes, catching the lie for what it was. Kurama was many things but clumsy was never one of them. Still, the oaf would most likely take it at face value and Yusuke looked impatient enough to not care that the fox wasn't telling the truth about a stupid broken teapot.

Kuwabara took the tray from Yukina and placed it on the low table with a goofy smile on his face. He barely noticed Kurama's excuse, not really paying attention to much other than the vision of beauty in front of him.

Yukina was a bit surprised when Kurama took blame for the broken teapot to explain their delay, but she smiled at him briefly before turning her eyes onto Kuwabara as he took the tray from her. Her smile grew brighter than ever. "Thank you, Kazuma." She said sweetly.

Yusuke had a slightly curious look on his face when Kurama mention the teapot, but didn't ask about it. As usual, Kuwabara took the teapot from Yukina to be a gentleman. He took a deep breath to calm himself, he wanted to know what news Kuwabara had mentioned earlier that had sort of forced on Kurama to talk about it, but he didn't want to ask. Whatever it was, he was sure that the red-headed fox would get to it when he was ready.

Akira didn't really pick up on the lie, but she did pick up on the ice maiden's mood and realized that Kurama was trying to cover that up. She left it alone, not one to mess in other people's business unless it was necessaary, and for now it was definitely not necessary.

Kuwabara practically back over to the petite ice demoness. Taking her hands in his larger ones, he put on his best serious face as he looked down at her, trying to show the depth of his love for her in his expression. "I would do anything for you, Yukina my love." He told her, feeling his face heat up in a blush as he spoke.

Hiei rolled his eyes and looked away. The fact that Yukina looked ridiculously happy with the oaf was all that kept him from removing the idiotic human's hands at the wrists for daring to touch her.

Kurama smiled over at Yusuke, noting the boy's impatience and deciding to end the suspense. "Yusuke, Yukina." He said, still smiling as he walked over to his mate. He held out his hand to pull the shorter demon to his feet but Hiei was too self conscious to take it and shifted to stand beside him without the offered assistance. "Hiei and I have been keeping a secret from all of you. We...weren't sure how you'd take it. However, Kuwabara discovered it recently, and we feel it would be unfair to not share the announcement with everyone."

Hiei snorted. "Plus, the oaf has already proved he can't keep his mouth shut."

Kurama's green eyes sparkled wickedly. "Well, there is that too."

Kuwabara blushed and scratched his neck sheepishly.

"Anyway..." The fox continued. "Hiei and I are mated." He finished with a serene smile as he slipped behind his lover and wrapped his arms around the shorter demon in a warm embrace.

Hiei allowed the innocent hug, knowing it was Kurama's way of demonstrating the truth of his words. The half Koorime fought off a blush and averted his eyes to the side, afraid to see his sister's reaction to the announcement. Koorime as a rule didn't believe in mating in any form and he wasn't sure how much her early indoctrinations among the reclusive female race may have skewed her beliefs.

It was probably a very good thing that she didn't have anything in her hands at the moment, or she would have dropped it in shock. For a long time, everyone was silent and Yukina was running many thoughts through her head, trying to figure out if she viewed this as a good thing or not. She had heard that two males could mate, but she had never seen or known any couples like that. Living in the frozen village with the other Koorime hadn't allowed for her to gain too much of an opinion on men and love. But she knew that she liked Kuwabara, in fact more than just liked, so she knew that the feeling was a good thing. Yusuke was the first to speak up.

"It's about time you two came out." He said with a wide grin. Though he wasn't one hundred percent comfortable with the idea, he wasn't going to be one to mess with someone else's choice in love. "It kinda makes me mad that Kuwabara found out first, but I'm happy for you guys. I thought you might be, but I didn't want to assume anything." Yusuke finished.

Akira looked at Yukina, who seemed to be thinking, or struggling with the idea. She kinda wished she could see into the ice maiden's mind, but knew that it was most likely unnecessary. After an awkward silence beyond Yusuke's words, Yukina seemed to make a decision.

She was struggling with the idea a little, but only because she'd never been told that it was good for two people to mate. Love, relationships, mating, all this stuff was new to her. But, knowing or even thinking that Hiei was her brother, she couldn't help but feel she should be happy for him. She looked between the two of them and smiled as she saw the subtle signs she'd never noticed before. "That's... Wonderful news!!" Yukina said. She wanted to run over and hug both of them, but didn't want Hiei to feel like he needed to run away. She still feared that he didn't really accept her, that there was some big reason why he had never told her. "I'm very happy for you both." She added, this time sounding a lot happier as she shoved her insecure thoughts to the back of her mind.

Kurama kept his arms around his petite mate, feeling the tension in the wiry frame. He knew Hiei was ready to run at the slightest hint of rejection from Yukina. Yusuke's response prompted a distracted smile from the redhead as most of his attention was focused on surreptitiously keeping the little fire demon from bolting from the room.

"Yes, well we didn't really tell, so much as Kuwabara...um...noticed." The redhead finished sheepishly, trying to fill the awkward silence and give Yukina time to gather her thoughts. He could see she was struggling with the idea but he had faith in her kindness and in her affection for Hiei. She wouldn't intentionally hurt him...especially with her suspicion that he might be her brother.

Hiei was visibly relieved when Yukina finally came up with an answer. The genuine enthusiasm in her voice drew his eyes to her smiling face and he found himself relaxing into Kurama's embrace. The relief was so great, his legs felt a little numb and he might have fallen had the redhead not tightened his grip to compensate for the slight loss of balance. Hiei recovered himself quickly and hoped no one had caught the moment of weakness. He said nothing; but if one looked hard enough, the swirl of confused emotions was visible in his wide ruby eyes as he looked at his sister. Chief among those emotions was relief, followed closely by joy, pain, and affection.

Kurama offered the girl a wide genuine smile, pleased that his faith in her had not been misplaced. "Thank you, Yukina. You have no idea how much that means to us." He told her seriously.

Yukina smiled back but wasn't sure if she should say anything more, but she was happy for them. If Hiei was her brother then he had the right to do whatever he wanted, as long as it made him happy, and that was more than enough for her. She could see for a fact that Hiei looked relieved by her answer, and she was glad that she had said something that made him feel better. Though she completely missed anything else in his expression, and she surely didn't notice his momentary weakness.

Yusuke smiled at the exchange, and he just barely noticed the whole thing with Hiei. Unfortunately it was so brief and subtle that he wasn't sure he'd seen it at all. He tossed the thought away because it was so unlike Hiei to be weak for any reason. "Well, it's all cool." Yusuke said simply, hoping that now everything had been said and done they could move on to other topics. He glanced over at Akira.